Jungle Book essay 2

Explain the impact of digitally convergent media platforms on film production, distribution and circulation, including individual producers. Refer to The Jungle Book 1967 and 2016 in your answer (15 marks)

The 1967 Jungle Book used traditional animation methods. The studio used copies of hand-drawn pictures on transparent cells as well as a multiplane camera to create a more 3d effect then was previously possible.  The characters were drawn depending on the actors’ voice, so the animations would reflect the personality of the actors’ voice, which was unusual at the time as the voice would typically be recorded after the characters were drawn. The 2016 Jungle Book had a budget of $175 million which puts it in the category for big Hollywood blockbuster films. The film was created mainly of the use of CGI, and although was primarily based in India, the entire production was shot in Los Angeles. The film used referenced photos taken by a team in India to create a realistic representation of location within the film. This ensured that the darker and more realistic representations of the animals suited the style of the animation, which attracted an older audience and meant that the film was given a PG rating compared to the 1967 film which was given a U rating by the BBFC.

Walt Disney had a large directional input on the production of the 1967 The Jungle Book, and ensured that the quality was extremely high due to the lack of reception the last film received, which was ‘The Sword in the Stone’. The trailer and film as a whole was targeted to family audiences and included happy & uplifting music to hit this audience, which differs to the older audience the 2016 film targeted. It was initially released in mid-October 1967, but made much of its box office by being re-released in 1984 and again in 1990. This helped the film preserve a sense of exclusivity, and kept the film fresh in audiences’ minds. However, trailer content and marketing campaign for The Jungle Book 2016, was digitally convergent with the themes of the film as it included darker images and scary scenes within the film, which contrasts with the family audience that the 1967 film targeted. Walt Disney productions aimed to do this in order to gain an older audience who was likely to be engaged to watch the film, as well as influence younger siblings to watch. Additionally, the first release of the film was previewed to an exclusive collection of 3500 Disney Fans at a convention, where the three main cast members were brought out on stage. This encouraged the fans to engage with the marketing campaign, and spread positive word of mouth about the film on social media platforms.

The Jungle Book 2016 had an extremely high budget made possible by Disney as it has the economic power to fund such a large production. This means that they can easily spread their media across all platforms to reach a wider audience and create synergy between their media and digitally convergent media platforms. In contrast, the 1967 release had a much lower production budget due to Disney’s smaller scale at the time. Furthermore, there was a much smaller competition in the animated film industry, meaning that huge budgets were not necessary. It was initially only released in cinemas, as home TVs and VHS technology had not reached mass audience, which led to a limited digital convergence, relying on physical advertisements and word of mouth to spread. The 2016 release had one of the biggest visual effects budget of all time, using the latest CGI and special effects technology to achieve a high production value. In turn this brings in a wider audience and therefore earning more money for Disney. Although the 1967 film featured no CGI, the animation techniques were still expensive and advanced for the time, as it required a large amount of resources and careful preparation. It was distributed and circulated across 70 countries in IMAX 3D, cinema, DVD and Blu-ray which gives it an extremely broad audience and very high exposure. The 1967 version initially released in cinemas as this was the only platform which could attract a large audience at the time, however it was followed by VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray releases as technology allowed the development of the film. This led to a timeless film due to the constantly updated releases.

Jungle Book 1967 was produced by Walt Disney himself, taken as an interpretation of Rudyard Kipling’s story ‘The Jungle Book’. The producers on this drawn animation film where are family run business, in contrast Disney’s 2016 Jungle Book is produced by a large cooperation and is not directed by Disney but by Jon Favreau under his Fairview entertainment company. The 2016 producers of the Jungle Book used nostalgia from the previous edition of the film, such as Oscar nominated songs ‘the Bare Necessities’ and ‘I wanna be like you’ to create a wider audience and appeal to the older generation as well, not just the stereotypical generation for an animated feature film.

The Jungle Book 1967 was first only available in cinema before being distributed through VHS, DVD and eventually Blue-ray. In contrast, the Jungle Book 2016 was released with the intention to be distributed across a large range of digitally convergent platforms. This included, IMAX 3D, as well Amazon and Now TV, in addition, they used multiple social media platforms, such as Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and YouTube to spread teaser trailers and get the audience involved. Emphasising back in 1967 they did not have the equipment and resources to distribute in this way, relying on word of mouth and newspaper reviews. 1967 released their film in cinemas in October which is now considered a bad time to release a film in the film industry. The best times are seasonal times mainly Summer and Winter. The 2016 version released in late April therefore approaching the summer season, as proceeding the 1967 version they now had the knowledge of peak distributing times. The 2016 turnout was packed cinemas in around 4000 cinemas across America.